3.1 Classroom Management & Collaborative Learning
Candidates model and facilitate effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources.
Candidates model and facilitate effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources.
I chose the lesson plan project I designed and implemented for ITEC 7430, Internet Tools for the Classroom, as my artifact for this standard because it is strong in both classroom management and collaboration. In order for a digital project such as this to run smoothly, I needed to be sure all tools would run smoothly. I spent a good deal of time troubleshooting various Web 2.0 tools and had to discard several prime resources because they would not work with our computer restrictions. The classroom teacher and I really wanted a screencast reflection and had some issues with the screencast tools we tried. With persistent troubleshooting and communication with the system technology department, I was eventually able to get Screencast-o-matic to work. This tool was essential to the individual student self-reflections. Another issue we had was protecting assignment documents from student editing, but that was easy to fix once it was identified as a problem. Students with disabilities had support from the classroom co-teacher and me, the media specialist. Students had equal access to computers as all work was done in either the media center or computer lab.
In this project, I modeled and facilitated collaborative learning strategies. Instructional strategies used in this lesson include collaboration, peer review, content mastery through teaching peers, integration of technology, and self-reflection. Students worked in small groups of 2 - 4 students and were allowed to pick their partners. They were given choice as to which partner would spearhead each assignment integrated into the project. Those students who were strong in content could develop the brochure and/or timeline. Those strong in technology could lead the Prezi presentation. Each member of the group was required to lead part of the oral presentation and create a screencast reflection on their own work and that of their partners. All work was posted to or embedded in the Wikispaces website and could be viewed and commented on by all members of the class.
Overall, this project went really well and my teaching partner and I learned a lot about integrating technology for engaged learning and higher order thinking. When we do it again this year, we will probably substitute another Web 2.0 tool for Timetoast. This tool was not as effective as we thought it would be because most dates entered were just years, not specific dates. This caused stacking which made identifying which group posted what very difficult. The Prezi presentation required students to create a visual metaphor which challenged them to think critically and creatively. That and the screencast reflections were my favorite parts of the project as they were the highest on the Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking pyramid. The project was a great success and improved my skills as an instructional technology coach.
In this project, I modeled and facilitated collaborative learning strategies. Instructional strategies used in this lesson include collaboration, peer review, content mastery through teaching peers, integration of technology, and self-reflection. Students worked in small groups of 2 - 4 students and were allowed to pick their partners. They were given choice as to which partner would spearhead each assignment integrated into the project. Those students who were strong in content could develop the brochure and/or timeline. Those strong in technology could lead the Prezi presentation. Each member of the group was required to lead part of the oral presentation and create a screencast reflection on their own work and that of their partners. All work was posted to or embedded in the Wikispaces website and could be viewed and commented on by all members of the class.
Overall, this project went really well and my teaching partner and I learned a lot about integrating technology for engaged learning and higher order thinking. When we do it again this year, we will probably substitute another Web 2.0 tool for Timetoast. This tool was not as effective as we thought it would be because most dates entered were just years, not specific dates. This caused stacking which made identifying which group posted what very difficult. The Prezi presentation required students to create a visual metaphor which challenged them to think critically and creatively. That and the screencast reflections were my favorite parts of the project as they were the highest on the Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking pyramid. The project was a great success and improved my skills as an instructional technology coach.